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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · scale · wound · bore · key · capital · last · trunk

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — to go on
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. key — in music
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. last — final
  10. bore — to drill
  11. scale — in music
  12. last — finally
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. key — for a lock
  16. wound — an injury
  17. capital — a city
  18. scale — size or range
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. key — the most important part
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bore — to tire
  24. scale — for weighing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com